There are few students who
take an interest
in poetry that is outside
their syllabus and fewer still,
who will attempt at writing poetry.
One such
student is Sandeep Doifode, a young boy
from Bandirwada, Sattari
who is currently pursuing his Masters in English Literature. While
working on his grasp of
English in order to improve his
communications skills, Sandeep developed
an interest in writing poetry as
well as prose.
With his debut book
‘Silent Whispers of the Soul’, a book of 30 poems, Sandeep is
happy that his poems will reach a wider
audience. “I started writing poems when I was in
my first year of college at
St Xavier’s College, Mapusa. I had very
encouraging lecturers in Alice D’Cruz, Sunita Fernandes and
Shirlene Palha who used to comment on my writings. The very first
poem that I wrote was ‘The
Truth of Life’
which is also printed in the book. As
a very shy student
who couldn’t express myself in
English in a
class of fluently speaking students,
I preferred writing,” explains Sandeep.
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The book consists of poems
on various themes as per
Sandeep’s
understanding of life, God and nature. He was a part of the
production of the book as well as he sat for hours with the designer
to keep the book simple,
with no design,
to add weight to his words.
“‘Silent
Whispers of the Soul’
was never meant to be a book. I just like writing down my feelings
and views.
I didn’t know if one could
call my writing a ‘poem’
when I actually started writing. Even
today, I just write what I feel; I don’t sit to
think and write.
One of my professors
realised that I was
trying hard to make every line rhyme with the next one,
so he told me that poems do
not have to rhyme, nor do they have to be written in a set meter like
Iambic pentameter. Walt Whitman liberated poets from all that in the
mid-1800s,” says Sandeep.
He further adds, “My
understanding of life is often misunderstood by my friends. I’ve
seen people running behind money blindly, people cheating on each
other, fathers
not bothered about their own children
because they are so busy enjoying their lives.
People’s minds are changing,
in their tone and in their
touch.
I see humans but not humanity. Can a human without humanity be called
a ‘human
being’?
I write when I feel the need
to express myself. I just love and trust my pen
and a piece of paper.”
After completing his post
graduation, Sandeep has plans
of teaching English to high school
students as well as writing
another book. To conclude,
Sandeep says, “Writing, be
it poetry or prose, is something I can’t live without. This book of
mine may have a million errors, but it’s my work and I’m proud of
it. This
is just
the start; I have big dreams and a
long way to go.”
‘Silent
Whispers of the Soul’, was
approved under the scheme to provide financial assistance to Goan
authors and publishers by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Goa
and was published by Broadway Publishers.
